E3: US coronavirus live: Florida governor issues stay-home order after weeks of resistance

Today, the second coronavirus stimulus package’s provisions for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave went into effect.

The US is the only wealthy country in the world which does not require employers to give workers paid sick days.

Joe Biden said he was “ready to debate President Trump on Zoom or Skype anytime he wants,” underscoring how the coronavirus pandemic has upended campaigning during a presidential election year.

Biden’s comments come after Trump suggested Monday that New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been widely praised for his response to the pandemic, would be a “better candidate than Sleepy Joe.”

The nation’s strategic stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly depleted, a Department of Homeland Security official has told the Washington Post.

An official anonymously told the Post, “The stockpile was designed to respond to handful of cities. It was never built or designed to fight a 50-state pandemic.”

Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump and Mitch McConnell for suggesting impeachment distracted the government from responding earlier to coronavirus.

“I think that’s an admission that perhaps the president and the majority leader cannot handle the job,” Pelosi told CNN.

Less than half of Americans approve of how Trump has responded to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll.

The AP/NORC poll found that 44% of Americans support Trump’s handling of the pandemic, which mirrors his 43% approval rating.

The Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports from California:

California schools will be unable to reopen for the rest of the school year because of coronavirus, the state superintendent said Tuesday.

Trump said he believes Iran is “planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq.”

Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq. If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!

The state of Florida has bent to widespread pressure from Washington and beyond to order all residents to stay at home, as cases of coronavirus have soared there.

It had been a rough week for Republican Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and fervent Donald Trump ally who shares the president’s reluctance to use widespread lockdowns as a tool to help contain coronavirus.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has just wrapped up his daily briefing on the state’s response to coronavirus.

Here’s where the day stands:

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the New York Police Department will have to “get more aggressive” about enforcing social distancing guidelines.

The governor has already announced New York City playgrounds will be closed because residents have failed to observe social distancing guidelines there.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said his brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo, is doing well after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Cuomo said his brother’s diagnosis showed that anyone can get the virus, even those who are young and generally healthy.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he thought Americans would be living with the consequences of the pandemic for a long time to come.

“I don’t think we get back to normal,” Cuomo said. “I think we get to a new normal.”

New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York City playgrounds would be closed due to lack of compliance to social distancing guidelines.

“Compliance is still not where it should be,” Cuomo said. Officials had hoped to keep the playgrounds open, but it became untenable, the governor said.

If America sees 100,000 deaths in the coronavirus pandemic, projections show New York could lose 16,000 of its residents, governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said yesterday that Americans should prepare for 100,000 fatalities across the country.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo noted there are several different projections on when the state will hit the peak of this crisis.

Some projections say the apex of the crisis will come in seven days, and others say it will come in six weeks.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the coronavirus crisis is expected to hit its peak in the state at the end of April.

That would mean at least another month of rising coronavirus cases and deaths, but the governor noted the projection model shifts as more data is received.

New York has confirmed 83,712 cases of coronavirus, marking an increase of 7,917 since yesterday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced.

The virus has now claimed 1,941 lives in New York state, up from 1,550 yesterday.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called on Wisconsin to delay its presidential primary, scheduled for next week, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“People should not be forced to put their lives on the line to vote, which is why 15 states are now following the advice of public health experts and delaying their elections,” Sanders said in a statement. “We urge Wisconsin to join them.”

Vice President Mike Pence closed his CNN interview by emphasizing that Americans’ daily actions can make a real difference in the pandemic.

“There are challenging days ahead, but your future is in your hands,” Pence said.

Vice President Mike Pence said the White House is looking at recommending more widespread use of face masks.

Health officials had previously said face masks should be reserved for medical professionals, but that stance is now being reconsidered.

Vice President Mike Pence emphasized Americans should remember that coronavirus cases represent individual human lives.

“I want everybody to know that we are taking this one American at a time,” Pence said.

Vice President Mike Pence dubiously argued that Trump has consistently emphasized the seriousness of coronavirus.

“I don’t believe the president has ever belittled the threat of the coronavirus,” Pence told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Vice President Mike Pence blamed the delayed US response to coronavirus on China’s reporting about the outbreak.

“We could’ve been better off if China had been more forthcoming,” Pence said in a CNN interview.

Vice President Mike Pence compared the United States to Italy in terms of the effects of coronavirus on the two countries.

“We think Italy may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point,” Pence told CNN in response to a question about death toll projections. Italy has seen the highest number of coronavirus deaths, already losing more than 12,000 residents to the pandemic.

The US intelligence community has reportedly concluded that China underreported its numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Bloomberg News reports:

China has concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in its country, under-reporting both total cases and deaths it’s suffered from the disease, the U.S. intelligence community concluded in a classified report to the White House, according to three U.S. officials.

The officials asked not to be identified because the report is secret and declined to detail its contents. But the thrust, they said, is that China’s public reporting on cases and deaths is intentionally incomplete. Two of the officials said the report concludes that China’s numbers are fake.

The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:

Wisconsin will use the Army National Guard to work the polls next week for the state’s presidential primary.

Vice President Mike Pence toured a Walmart distribution center in Gordonsville, Virginia, and thanked the workers there for helping in the coronavirus response.

“Thank you for doing a great job and keeping food on the table for the American people,” the vice president said over an intercom, according to the pool report. “We’re grateful for our farmers. We’re grateful for our grocery store operators. We’re grateful for Walmart.”

New York governor Andrew Cuomo will hold his daily briefing on the state’s coronavirus response at 12 pm ET.

I will be giving my daily #Coronavirus briefing at 12:00PM. Stay tuned.

Congressman Adam Schiff is calling for the creation of a commission to later review the government’s response to coronavirus.

The California Democrat, who was the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s Senate trial, said such a commission could help the country prepare for future pandemics.

After Pearl Harbor and 9/11, we looked at what went wrong to learn from our mistakes.

Once we've recovered, we need a nonpartisan commission to review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.

I’m working on a bill to do that.https://t.co/uqO3BwVldN

The White House coronavirus task force is reportedly leaning toward recommending more widespread use of face masks.

CNN reports:

Most members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force have come to agree that Americans should begin wearing face coverings in public and could issue formal guidance on the matter soon, people familiar with the matter said. ...

Previously, some members of the task force -- including Dr. Deborah Birx -- cautioned in meetings against recommending Americans wear masks because of a fear it could lull them into a false sense of protection and prevent them from socially distancing.

Alexandra Villareal in New York reports for the Guardian:

Deaths from coronavirus have exceeded 1,000 in New York City, while officials continue to warn that the worst is yet to come.

The city’s Health Department reported late Tuesday that at least 1,096 people have died of the virus in the city. There had been almost 42,000 confirmed cases as of Tuesday evening, an increase of more than 1,000 over the previous day. Statewide, there were more than 75,000 people who have tested positive for the disease, and more than 1500 people have died.

Here are the other major developments in New York:

Maryland now has nearly 2,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to state officials.

The state is reporting 1,985 cases as of this morning, marking an increase of 325 since yesterday. Maryland has lost 31 residents to the pandemic.

As of this morning, the @MDHealthDept is reporting 1,985 confirmed cases of #COVIDー19 in Maryland.

We have added 325 cases since yesterday.

Negative tests: 17,233

Maryland has 31 deaths, and 69 patients have been released from isolation.https://t.co/1RfN0kNmTz

In spite of efforts to obtain more personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, many are still reporting anxiety-inducing shortages.

In just the latest example, an anonymous doctor posted a picture of a Yankees rain poncho she was given as personal protective equipment.

I’m a physician at a hospital in NYC and THIS IS THE “PPE” I WAS JUST HANDED for my shift. Our federal government has completely failed its health care workers. #GetUsPPE pic.twitter.com/bEh11ra7Ee

PHOTOS: Nurses at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx borough of New York gather in front of the hospital's ER entrance to demand adequate supplies of personal protective equipment to safely treat coronavirus patients. New York leads the US in the highest cases of COVID-19. (AP) pic.twitter.com/Xfomj7Hyj7

Joe Biden released a video comparing his words about the coronavirus pandemic to Trump’s.

The words of a president matter. pic.twitter.com/OteNK4CWbU

The surgeon general was asked this morning about governors, like Florida’s Ron DeSantis, who have not yet issued statewide “stay at home” orders.

"My advice to America would be that these guidelines are a national stay-at-home order."— U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams pic.twitter.com/UWGtO2BpJO

Trump’s criticism of New York and New Jersey for their responses to coronavirus has already sparked pushback.

The president said yesterday that the two states, which have been hit hardest by the virus, “got off to a very late start” with their responses to the pandemic.

This is not the time to debate but the states were not slow to respond – the federal government was absent. https://t.co/Q8v7kWJxmM

In case you missed it: Trump said yesterday that Americans should brace for a “very, very painful two weeks.”

Related: Trump warns of 'painful two weeks' as officials predict up to 240,000 US coronavirus deaths

Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden acknowledged last night that the party will likely have to hold a virutal nominating convention to avoid spreading coronavirus.

On the Democratic National Convention going forward in July

Brian Williams: Can you really envision every prominent Democrat in this country from all 50 states inside a hot arena 104 days from now?

Joe Biden: It's hard to envision that. pic.twitter.com/9eHP6LDdRw

Good morning, live blog readers!

The White House is reconsidering its previous guidance against widespread usage of face masks as the country’s coronavirus death toll continues to rise.

Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!

They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9

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